If the Navitimer is a symbol of Breitling’s century-old history, then the weightlifting Navitimer Cosmonaute is a witness to the brand’s breaking through the sky as a representative of aviation watches. Sixty years after the birth of the first Navitimer Cosmonaute, Breitling has launched a new version to commemorate the historic moment of “breaking through the sky” on that day.
On May 24, 1962, American astronaut Scott Carpenter wore his personally customized BREITLING Navitimer Cosmonaute watch to officially carry out the “Mercury-Atlas 7” mission, successfully orbiting the Earth three times. This allowed the watch and the brand to be honored as the “first Swiss watch to enter space.” 60 years later, BREITLING recently held a space-themed event in Zurich, bringing together Scott Carpenter’s descendants, Gregory Breitling, Fred Mandelbaum, a historian and collector, to review this historic achievement and reunite with the Navitimer Cosmonaute watch worn by Scott Carpenter on that day.
The story of this watch did not end after the Mercury spacecraft 18 crossed overhead. Scott Carpenter, known as one of the most well-prepared astronauts, was selected by NASA to take over from the original astronaut Deke Slayton for Mercury-Atlas 7. The mission went smoothly, with the flight path almost reaching the planned orbit parameters. However, during the retrofire procedure at the end of the mission, the automatic stabilization system failed to maintain the required 34-degree pitch and zero-degree yaw attitude, causing the spacecraft to deviate 250 miles off course after 5 hours of launch and forcing it to land in the Atlantic Ocean. Subsequently, the watch, due to prolonged immersion in seawater, suffered irreparable corrosion marks. However, the watch has been kept in the BREITLING family’s collection and has never been repaired or displayed until this event.
In addition to the original Navitimer Cosmonaute, the brand has also specially launched a new limited edition commemorative version this time. The 41mm diameter case is made of stainless steel, equipped with their own B02 manual winding movement, providing 70 hours of power reserve. The case back is engraved with Carpenter’s mission date, “362 of 1”, and “First Swiss Space Watch” in English. Limited to 362 pieces worldwide, available in bracelet version (HKD $82,800) and leather strap version (HKD $79,800). For those interested in BREITLING and aviation watch enthusiasts, you may want to check out the official website.
資料及圖片來源：BREITLING
